NASA’s Mars Orbiter Maps Electric Currents Around the Red Planet – Fundamental to Atmospheric Loss
Five years after NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft entered into orbit around Mars, data from the mission has led to the creation of a map of electric…
MAVEN
Scientists Were Way Off on the Martian Dynamo – “Very Different From What We Thought”
Mars had a global magnetic field much earlier—and much later—in the planet’s history than scientists have previously known. A planet’s global magnetic field arises from…
Unexpected Discovery by NASA’s MAVEN on Mars Helps Explain Disruptive Phenomenon on Earth
NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft has discovered “layers” and “rifts” in the electrically charged part of the upper atmosphere (the ionosphere) of…
Surprising Clues to Martian Climate Uncovered As NASA’s MAVEN Maps Winds in Mars’ Upper Atmosphere [Video]
Researchers have created the first map of wind circulation in the upper atmosphere of a planet besides Earth, using data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft that…
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Just Found a New Type of Martian Aurora
Auroras appear on Earth as ghostly displays of colorful light in the night sky, usually near the poles. Our rocky neighbor Mars has auroras too,…
MAVEN Mission Sheds Light on Habitability of Distant Planets
How long might a rocky, Mars-like planet be habitable if it were orbiting a red dwarf star? It’s a complex question but one that NASA’s…
MAVEN Spacecraft Reveals That Mars Has a Unique Magnetic “Tail”
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft reveals that Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile…
Large Solar Storm Sparks Global Aurora on the Martian Surface
An unexpectedly strong blast from the Sun hit Mars last month, sparking a global aurora more than 25 times brighter than any previously seen by…
MAVEN Reveals How Mars Lost Its Atmosphere
New results from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft reveal that solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that…
MAVEN Mission Provides Unprecedented Ultraviolet View of Mars
New images from the MAVEN mission show the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail, revealing dynamic, previously invisible behavior. They include the…
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Observes Mars Moon Phobos
New observations from NASA’s MAVEN Mission has scientists closer to solving the mystery of how Mars’ moon Phobos formed. In late November and early December…
MAVEN Reveals That Solar Wind Has Transformed Martian Atmosphere
NASA’s MAVEN mission reveals that solar wind appears to have played a key role in the transition of the Martian climate from an early, warm…
New Findings on Fate of Mars’ Atmosphere Will be Broadcast Live Today
At 2 p.m. EST on November 5 NASA will provide details of key science findings from the agency’s ongoing exploration of Mars. The event will…
NASA is Working on Technology to Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation on Mars
NASA is working on the technology that will enable an actual trip to Mars in the 2030s. On August 7, 1972, in the heart of…
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Completes 1,000th Orbit around Mars
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft completed 1,000 orbits around the Red Planet on April 6, four-and-a-half months into its one-year primary mission….
MAVEN Spacecraft Detects Aurora and Mysterious Dust Cloud around Mars
New research being presented at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference details the discovery of an unexplained high-altitude dust cloud and aurora that reaches…
MAVEN Spacecraft Completes First Deep Dip Campaign of Martian Atmosphere
NASA’S MAVEN spacecraft has completed its first deep-dip maneuver, gathering measurements closer to the top of the lower atmosphere of Mars. NASA’S Mars Atmosphere and…
MAVEN Identifies Links to Atmospheric Loss on Mars
New findings from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission reveal a new process by which the solar wind can penetrate deep into a…